Medical care of a patient involved in a trauma includes visual assessment of the patient's posterior surface. Many such patients present to an emergency department securely immobilized to a spine board. Spine board immobilization prevents movement of the spinal column, reducing the risk of further damaging the spinal cord. However, the posterior surface of the patient must be assessed for other injuries.
Current practice involves a log roll method to view the posterior surface of the patient. Log rolling is a technique for turning a patient whose body must be axially aligned, in which extremities are held close to the patient's sides and the patient is rolled like a log. This practice may be responsible for neurologic deterioration in up to 25% of patients with spinal cord injuries during initial management. Data supports a position against the practice of log rolling, yet no one has offered a better solution, causing significant motion in unstable spines when there is a need for visual assessment of the patient's posterior surface.
A suggested replacement of the log roll being a technique is known as the 6+lift and slide1, with six healthcare providers all lifting the patient straight up while the spine board is slid out from underneath the patient. However, the 6+life and slide1 procedure requires a significant number of healthcare providers, creates a danger to the patient while the spine board is removed, and is labor-intensive. Even when done correctly, the 6+lift and slide1 technique provides no opportunity for the medical staff to visually assess the posterior surface without lifting the patient over their heads.
There remains a need for a spine board that assists a person, such as a doctor, nurse, or emergency medical technician (EMT), to examine a patient while alleviating or eliminating at least (1) the likelihood of aggravating spine trauma, (2) effort required of medical personnel, (3) the difficulty in examining the posterior of a patient while that patient's spine is immobilized.